House Dragavei

House Dragovei is an old house with high esteem among their peers. It's stronghold is located in a region known as Dragmire in the Duchy of Trasnia.

The house is renown for their tradition of knightly lords following in the tradition of their founder. Each heir is trained in martial combat and encouraged to earn the title of knight from the Duke or Duchess like their parents before them. The family often takes part in jousting events and martial competitions, but their knightly achievements are not only for spectacle. They hold a large portion of the duke's forces under their banner and have led them in many successful battles. However, in recent generations, House Dragavei has become additionally well known for their patronage of alchemists and surgeons, having turned their sights not just on the applications of war, but medicine. This increased exponentially when the Golden Dragavei plant was discovered within the last several decades, becoming a staple for treating the wounded and dying with its mind and body-numbing properties.

Count Radomir Dragavei

Radomir Dragavei is the current count of Dragmire and head of the family. He was the third of four siblings, and spent much of his early years studying the ways of alchemy, eventually becoming a generous advocate and member of the Society of Immortal Visions. When his elder siblings died, he was thrust into the role of head of the house before he was 20. With his help, House Dragavei has become a well-known name for their medical and alchemical patronage as well as Count Dragavei's own invention in time known as the manikin which he coined as "Fireflies", and which has given him the moniker of "Puppetmaster".

By reputation, Count Dragavei is a discerning, cunning, and intelligent man who values respect and discipline. He has been well associated with the plant named after his family, which spreads for miles and miles from its source on humanoid, animal, and even through water, for his eagerness to make connections with many different houses, both high and low, diplomatically. Planting his own seeds of influence in many regions of Trandrafia, near and far, and possibly beyond its borders.

Assets

Castle Dragavei, the Drowning Castle

It is said that the land that Galeas Dragavei was gifted was not always wetlands, lush forest and riverlands that over time has grown swampy and stagnant. Others claim that it was, but the knight and their descendants built their home too large and too heavy, and with each generation, the castle slowly sinks a little more into the earth, inch by inch. Whatever the reason, the Drowning Castle gets its name for a reason. At an odd tilt in some wings, most of the floors are unaffected by the inevitable sinking of the castle save the lowest levels few ever visit that are rumored to be half submerged.

There are rumors that long ago the Dragavei family captured and imprisoned a black wyrmling beneath their castle, giving more reason to avoid the lowest levels of the mazelike tunnels that are said to wind beneath the castle. Whether this rumor is true or not, the family has fed in to these rumors as for a long while prior to the current Count Dragavei the crest of the house was emblazoned proudly with the image of a black dragon, and even now holds the image of a black dragon beneath the castle on their current crest. Due to rumors that have risen from these tales, the Duchal house of Skavis, who claims ancestry to a black dragon that emblazons their own crest, has found it difficult to deal with the family.

Dureredin

The famed weapon once wielded by the founder of House Dragavei, Durerdin (translated to "pain-tooth") was said to be pulled from the mouth of a great beast and forged into a lance for the knight to wield. It is said to still drip the venom of the creature that it was pulled from, and cause those harmed by it extreme anguish. Though, it does not belong to a duchal house, the weapon has earned a place among scholars as one of the legendary artifacts of Trandrafia.

History

The house was founded by a foreigner turned knight of legendary renown, Ser Galeas Trustroth, who earned his title from the Duke of Trasnia at the time for his stalwart bravery and act of service against a shadowy cult and the monster they served that threatened to nearly wipe a city off the map by way of a dark ritual. Ser Galeas took the more traditional sounding name of Dragavei as a reference to his achievement in becoming a knight, but keeping the name Bristroth - a variation of his old surname - as a moniker - and was granted a castle along a river in the northern region of the Duchy of Trasnia now known as Dragmire. Over the years he rose to take the title of lord, and in following generations the house has worked its way up through the ranks to claim the title of Count for its head.

Type

Political, Family

Family Leader

Radomir Dragovei

Founders

• Galeas Bristroth

Neighboring Nations

• House Otrava